He was a boy named January. His mother, Terra's first child and only son. His hair was dark and windswept into disheveled curls, and his eyes were pale and chill. His laugh was breathless, as if all sound had been sucked away by the wind. His face was reddened about the cheeks and ears, as if touched constantly by a cold breeze. He was quiet like frost's coming and dangerous like ice when need-be. Often times, he lost his head among the snowflakes of his thoughts, and he thought of her. He loved a girl called September. She was playful and young like a summer breeze, dancing about his thoughts with a soft giggle always spilling from her lips. Her hair was dark, tinted with shades of gold and orange, like the leaves of Autumn, and her eyes were dark and bright. She always seemed so breathless, ever ready to smile or laugh or talk. And he spent all of his time dreaming of September.

And the days drifted past in a flurry of thoughts, of prayers until he could see her again. The hours moved so slowly, turning lethargically like the hands of an iced over clock.

But he was patient, lost among his thoughts as he was while staring at the clouds. He listened to the trees breathe, a pained and wheezing sound as if their branches were broken ribs and the paper-like leaves nothing more than bandages about brittle bones. He pulled the collar of his dark blue woolen coat up further about his neck, blocking out the chill wind from behind him, even as it combed icy fingers through his hair. He breathed an easy sigh, glancing up through the rattling leaves at the pale sky draped in wispy clouds. It was as though he could feel time had stopped, frozen in droplets hanging from any surface, like he could reach out and brush away seconds from the air. He listened to the birds calling to one another, their sound shrill in the brittle air. He could hear the rustle of leaves, like footsteps drawing closer and hidden under the sounds of a dying Autumn. A bird call tweeted in his ear, calling all attention from the world as a whole to that single sound. He spun on his boot-heel and caught sight of her slipping through the trees. The dress looked thin and worn, a Summer's dress not meant for Autumn's chill. Her feet were bare and silent in the leaves, treading lightly over the frost-bitten ground. The sun fell about her, catching in her wild hair and lighting all the shades of brown, gold, and orange. Her fingers trailed against tree bark as she slipped closer to him. She cocked her head like a bird, those dark, bright eyes regarding him brilliantly. Her lips curled in a smile that bunched her cheeks and caught hold of his breath. He was unable to do anything other than smile back, though more shyly than his September. She almost seemed to drift toward him, her feet lighting barely on the ground as she moved toward him. He waited to see the droplets of time roll off her bare skin and worn cloth, but the seconds didn't move, simply hung suspended and danced about her. Her arms slunk around his neck as her body pressed flush against his. He could feel her through his coat, even as the buttons pressed into his chest. Her face burrowed into his neck, the slightly chill skin causing gooseflesh to scatter down his arms and back. Warm breath ghosted along his neck, trapped against his skin due to the coat collar. He drew her closer to him, holding her tight to his chest. "Je vous ai manqué," he asked softly, his voice holding the flutter of a laugh. Her grip about him tightened, her little frame lifting on tiptoes to peer up at him with those dark, oil-spot eyes. "Toujours, avec chaque fibre de mon être..." her lips pressed against his, icy like cold silk. "Je t'aime." She stole his breath away, like ice creeping through his veins, as her lips seared to his like burning cold metal. He clutched at her harder, as if trying to melt their bodies together. "Toujours, pour toujours, et un jour."

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